Water activity

Húsavík: Big Whale Safari & Puffin Island Tour

Water activity

Húsavík: Big Whale Safari & Puffin Island Tour

From US$ 154.09 per person

Experience the Original Big Whale Safari and Puffins Tour from Húsavík – the Whale Capital of Iceland. Increase your chances of seeing the gentle giants on this guided adventure on board a RIB speedboat.

About this activity

Free cancellation
Cancel up to 24 hours in advance for a full refund
Reserve now & pay later
Keep your travel plans flexible — book your spot and pay nothing today.
Covid-19 precautions
Special health and safety measures are in place. Check your activity voucher once you book for full details.
Duration 2.5 hours
Check availability to see starting times.
Live tour guide
English

Experience

Highlights
  • Cruise a larger area of Skjálfandi Bay on board a modern RIB speedboat
  • Increase your chances of observing big whales in their natural environment
  • Learn about Iceland's nature and wildlife from an expert guide
  • Stay warm and safe in specially made overalls
Full description

Embark on a guided whale watching tour to Puffin Island from Húsavík. Take in the views of this island on a speedboat ride and learn about the local marine life and puffins from an experienced guide.

After you have been equipped with a warm safety overall and a life vest, step aboard a modern RIB speedboat to begin your exciting adventure. Head out to the beautiful surroundings of Skjálfandi Bay while your specialized guide demonstrates safety on-board and gives you live commentary on the sights encountered along the way. Your first visit will be Puffin Island during the nesting period (April 15 – August 20 approximately), where you can observe thousands of colorfully-beaked puffins, often called "the Clowns of the Ocean." The high speeds of your boat will make it more likely you will spot some of the bigger whales, such as the majestic blue whales and acrobatic humpback whales. Watching whales in their natural environment from a RIB speedboat is a unique experience.

Includes
  • Round-trip RIB speedboat cruise
  • Specialized guide
  • Live commentary on-board
  • Warm safety overalls
  • Hotel pickup and drop-off
Not suitable for
  • Children under 8 years
  • Pregnant women
  • People with back problems
  • People with heart problems
  • Wheelchair users
  • People under 4 ft 3 in (130 cm)

Select participants and date

Participants

Date

Meeting point

Meet your guide at the Gentle Giants Ticket Center, look out for big blue flags

Open in Google Maps ⟶
Important information

What to bring

  • Comfortable shoes
  • Warm clothing
  • Outdoor clothing

Not allowed

  • Luggage or large bags

Know before you go

  • Tour is subject to favorable weather conditions. If this tour is canceled due to bad weather, you will be given the option of another date or a full refund
  • If no whales (dolphins included) are seen on the tour, you will be offered a voucher for a traditional whale watching tour on oak boats free of charge, however, no refund is given
  • The puffin season is from April 15th – August 20th approximately; there is more focus on whales outside the puffin season
Customer reviews

Overall rating

4.7 /5

based on 423 reviews

Review summary

  • Guide
    4.8/5
  • Transportation
    4.8/5
  • Value for money
    4.3/5
  • Safety
    4.9/5

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Star rating:

This was amazing! We did the night tour (9 PM) at the end of July. We were nervous that it would be too dark to see anything, but that was certainly not the case. The sunset and the mountains were beautiful. Parking was easy in front of the office and it was a short walk down to the water. When you first arrive, you will get suited up into a flotation device outfit. It also helps to keep you warm, although I would recommend bringing a hat and wearing warm clothes. After you get suited up, you head out to the boat and first visit a puffin nesting ground. There were tons of puffins. We then headed out to search for whales. We were lucky and saw three humpback whales. They were very active, which I think is partly due to it being dusk. We also saw some seals. Our guide was very knowledgable and taught us a lot about whales. I would highly recommend this tour, especially since it is on a speed boat, so it gives you a higher chance of seeing whales.

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September 17, 2022

Very good guide with great expertise, explained a lot to us in an interesting way. Despite announced difficulties to see whales, the guide and the boat driver took a lot of time to be able to show us whales. Accordingly, we drove very far out. The tour itself was very relaxed, the driving style was great. The process went very smoothly, you felt completely comfortable! In addition, I did not have the impression that the animals were being harassed or disturbed during rest periods, but you still had a good and close view of the animals (in our case humpback whales, puffins and dolphins)

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August 20, 2022

We saw whales, dolphins, puffins, seals and amazing nature. The trip on the RIB boat was already worth the price :) If we hadn't seen whales, we would have received a voucher without an expiry date. Both the guide (Axel) and the captain (Sarah) were very professional, experienced and super friendly. With the overalls you didn't freeze at all, it was just a great time!

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August 16, 2022

Product ID: 87638